Defining Baseline Sales in a Competitive Environment

The baseline ("normal" sales) has become the most commonly used procedure to measure the incremental effect of marketing variables, particularly promotions. Firms such as IRI and Nielsen provide their clients with baseline sales' estimates which they then use to determine the sales and profit effects of consumer and trade promotions and, in some cases, measure their brand equity. With the increasing importance of the baseline to the measurement of marketing effects, it is necessary to develop an accurate definition of the baseline and determine what it measures. This paper will define baseline sales and discuss its implications, show that the incorporation of competitive reaction is important to the definition of the baseline and discuss how to use this concept when a firm has a broad product line. In addition, we compare several baseline estimation methods using simulated data and show the importance of incorporating a competitive reaction component in baseline estimation. Finally, we apply the concept of competitive reaction to actual sales data and show that the baseline computed without a competitive reaction hnction is ~ i g ~ c a n tdliyff erent from the baseline with a competitive reaction hnction.This study investigates whether changes of oil price would have precedence, exogeneity and causal prediction to the stock markets. The result shows that changes of oil price have precedence over the stock returns in the United States, Japan and Korea markets. And the evidence suggests that there be exogeneity of oil to the stock markets because the stock returns can be causally interpreted by the current or past changes of oil price during the past two decades. Thus changes of oil price would contain any information exploitable in forecasting the stock markets and have the predictive value of leading indicators

Linking Brand Equity to Customer Equity

equity and brand equity are two of the most important topics to academic researchers and practition-ers. As part of the 2005 Thought Leaders Conference held at the University of Connecticut, the authors were asked to review what was known and not known about the relationship between brand equity and customer equity. During their discussions, it became clear that whereas two distinct research streams have emerged and there are distinct differences, the concepts are also highly related. It also became clear that whereas the focus of both brand equity and customer equity research has been on the end consumer, there is a need for research to understand the intermediary’s perspective (e.g., the value of the brand to the retailer and the value of a customer to a retailer) and the consumer’s perspective (e.g., the value of the brand versus the value of the retailer). This article represents general conclusions from the authors ’ discussion and suggests a modeling approach that could be used to investigate linkages between brand equity and customer equity as well as a modeling approach to determine the value of the manufacturer to a retailer

Marketing Actions and the Value of Customer Assets: A Framework for Customer Asset Management

This article develops a framework for assessing how marketing actions affect customers’lifetime value to the firm. The framework is organized around four critical actions that firms must take to effectively manage the asset value of the customer base: database creation, market segmentation, forecasting customer purchase behavior, and resource allocation. In this framework, customer lifetime value is treated as a dynamic construct, that is, it influences the eventual allocation of marketing resources but is also influenced by that allocation. By viewing customers as assets and systematically managing these assets, a firm can identify the most appropriate marketing actions to acquire, maintain, and enhance customer assets and thereby maximize financial returns. The article discusses in detail how to assess customer lifetime value and manage customers as assets. Then, it identifies key research challenges in studying customer asset management and the managerial challenges associated with implementing effective customer asset management practices.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Choice Models and Customer Relationship Management

Customer relationship management (CRM) typically involves tracking individual customer behavior over time, and using this knowledge to configure solutions precisely tailored to the customers' and vendors' needs. In the context of choice, this implies designing longitudinal models of choice over the breadth of the firm's products and using them prescriptively to increase the revenues from customers over their lifecycle. Several factors have recently contributed to the rise in the use of CRM in the marketplacePeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47023/1/11002_2005_Article_5892.pd

Reply

Author's reply to comments by Kruger (Kruger, M. W. 1987. Commentary—Steps toward mastering trade promotions. 147–149.) and Struse (Struse, III, R. W. 1987. Commentary—Approaches to promotion evaluation: A practitioner's viewpoint. 150–151.).